West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #4
Master Pandimonium!
The West Coast Avengers have been struggling to find someone to fill the sixth and final spot on the team. Fate appears to hand a candidate on a silver platter when the Thing shows up to get help for a flat tire. However, when Hawkeye asks him to join the team, Ben Grimm flat out declines. He just quit the Fantastic Four and has no interest in joining another team, preferring to be alone.[1] The reason why Grimm is in Los Angeles is because he has joined the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, and gives the Avengers tickets to his next match and leaves.[2] However, Hawkeye is convinced that he can wear Ben down and convince him to join the team.
Out on the street, the Thing remembers that the reason he visited the Avengers was because he was a flat tire and has to go back to call for roadside assistance. That’s when a flaming person begins falling out of the sky. Thinking that this is the Human Torch, Ben rushes to catch him even thought they are not on the best of terms. However, the flaming person turns out to be a woman in a yellow and red bird themed costume. Not sure who she is, Ben races back to Avengers Compound unaware that a strange bird with abnormally long legs is following him.
The Thing hands the mystery woman to the Avengers to deal with them. As they figure out how to deal with her, the phone begins to ring. However, when Hank Pym answers the call the person on the end of the line hangs up.[3] When Thing goes back to his bike, Iron Man tags along to see what he can do to help make repairs. Hawkeye takes Ben’s brief return as a sign that he is wearing the Thing down.[4] Meanwhile, Wonder Man is approached by Tigra who suggests they spend some time on the Avengers private beach. Simon likes the idea, as he enjoyed their talks in the past. However, Tigra has more than talking in mind and kisses Wonder Man passionately. Simon is caught off guard, but admits he enjoyed it, but he wants to do what he set out to do first, promising that they can go to the beach after.[5]
Meanwhile, the mystery woman has woken up and introduces herself to the Avengers. She is Bonita Juarez, aka Firebird, a superhero from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She tells them how she is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and went to State College to become a social worker until the family found on hard times. One night, while out in the desert, a fireball fell from the heavens. When it struck her, she wasn’t burned but felt something strange had happened to her. Devoutly Christian, Bonita wasn’t sure what happened to her and went to her priest to confess in fear that what happened to her was some kind of sin. However, she discovered that she couldn’t talk about her experience and she fled the church. She happened upon some thieves trying to rob a convenance store. Angered by this brazen robbery, Bonita suddenly burst into flame that took on the shape of a bird and she used her newfound powers to stop the crooks. She later joined the Rangers, a team that was formed by Rick Jones to help rescue the Hulk, who at the time was being manipulated by the Corruptor. However, the group later broke up after their first outing together.[6]
Mockingbird then asks what brought Firebird to them today and is told how she was attacked in her home by a large bird with abnormally long legs. Using her powers to fly into the air she was confronted by a masked man in a robe calling himself Master Pandemonium. He asks if she is one of the five, a term unfamiliar to Firebird.[7] She tries attacking him, but he is able to shrug off her attacks. She was surprised when his two arms transform into demons and break off from Pandemonium’s body and attack her. She fled the scene at that point and this is how she fell from the sky near Avengers Compound.
When Hank expresses concern for Firebird, Tigra gets incredibly jealous and has an angry outburst — a product of her dual nature as a cat-woman.[8] She storms out of the room to get ahold of herself. She happens to catch Hank as he answers the phone. Hank is shocked that the call is coming from Ultron, the robot he himself created. The robot warns his “father” that he is coming to destroy him once and for all, then hangs up. Hank decides against involving the Avengers as this is something he needs to deal with on his own, however, he wonders how a normal man like himself can do against an invincible robot.[9]
Meanwhile, Wonder Man is appearing on a popular late night talk show to promote his latest film. However, Simon Williams has an ulterior motive: He wants to address the audience and own up to his years old crime of embezzlement, something that he never really faced any real punishment for. He tells the viewers that he wants to come clean about his criminal past and let the court of public opinion decide what kind of punishment he should face.[10] With that done, Simon decides to visit the Thing at the local coliseum where he is practicing for his upcoming Unlimited Class Wrestling match. However, before they can talk they are attacked by Master Pandemonium, who has come to see if the Thing is one of the five.[11] As Pandemonium summons his two arm demons, Wonder Man calls the rest of the Avengers for help. When they arrive, their foe suddenly unleashes a horde of demons through the pentagram on his stomach.
Although they face overwhelming numbers, the Avengers are able to hold their own with the help of the Thing. Iron Man tries to attack Master Pandemonium as the villain tries to make a getaway on the back of his demonic bird Azmodeus. Pandemonium tries to melt Iron Man’s armor with a breath of hellfire. The armored hero braves the searing heat and tries to punch his foe and is surprised when his fist punches right through Pandemonium’s robe with no resistance. As Iron Man gets swarmed by demons, Master Pandemonium retreats back to his home. There he examines the pentagram shaped hole in his chest and considers his fate and no matter what it has in store for him, he has to stop. Azmodeus, finds this amusing and tells his “master” not to make him laugh.
Recurring Characters
West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Iron Man, Wonder Man, Tigra), Hank Pym, Thing, Firebird, Master Pandemonium, Ultron
Continuity Notes
The Thing’s breakaway from the Fantastic Four is quite the complicated situation. The details:
During Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #1-12, Ben discovered that he could change back and form between his human and Thing forms and decided to stay after the battle was over. He stayed on Battleworld from Thing #11-22. He was forced to sacrifice this ability to return to Earth.
While he was gone, the Human Torch fell in love with and started dating a woman who everyone believed to be Alicia Masters, the Thing’s girlfriend, starting in Fantastic Four #275. This woman is actually Lyja, a Skrull spy who took the real Alicia’s place in Fantastic Four #265, as revealed in issue #358 of that series.
When the Thing found out that Johnny was dating “Alicia” in Fantastic Four #277, he quit the Fantastic Four in Thing #23, particularly after learning that Reed knew Ben could change form without needing to be on Battleworld, but kept it a secret. However, Ben will eventually be coaxed back onto the team in Fantastic Four #296.
The Thing joined the UCWF in Thing #28.
As we find out later this issue, the caller is Ultron. We’ll later discover that the homicidal robot has decided to reconcile with his creator. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #7.
Hawkeye mentions how Hank quit being a superhero after disgracing himself in front of his fellow Avengers. This started in Avengers #213 when his struck his then-wife Janet Van Dyne, aka the Wasp. She divorced him soon after and he was court-martialed and kicked off the team. He was later manipulated into assisting his old enemy Egghead in the commission of a crime and was arrested in Avengers #217. Ultimately, he cleared his name in issues #228-229 and redeemed himself, however he decided to give up on heroics all together.
There is a lot going on here between Wonder Man and Tigra. The details:
Tigra mentions that she has been struggling with her conflicting personalities since West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #1.
Wonder Man has been struggling with the guilt he feels over his years old embezzlement crimes circa Avengers #9. He has been feeling this guilt since admitting to the crimes that have been blamed on his brother for years, per Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #2.
Tigra and Wonder Man have confided in each other in the past in West Coast Avengers #3.
There is a lot extra details about Firebird’s origin story that is either glossed over, not explains, or revealed later:
Here, Bonita states that the source of her powers are unknown. She will eventually come to believe that they are some kind of divine power given to her by god. Avengers Spotlight #23 reveals that the source of her power was actually radioactive waste.
Mention is made that Firebird joined the Rangers to help free the Hulk from the Controller. This happened in Incredible Hulk #265.
Here she states that the Rangers broke up shortly thereafter. This was due to the manipulations for the demon Riglevio. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #8-9 and Solo Avengers #18.
The “five” is referring to individuals embused with fragments of Mephisto’s soul. As explained in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #15, Marvel’s resident devil was previously destroyed by Franklin Richards in Fantastic Four #277. The fragments of his soul were split up. The “five” are not full revealed. Pandemonium will later recover Mephisto’s soul fragments from Tommy and Billy Maximoff, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch’s children. See Avengers West Coast #51-52.
Iron Man pulls rank on Tigra, telling her that Hank was an Avenger for a lot longer than she has. The details:
Hank was a founding member of the Avengers back in the first issue of their series as Ant-Man. A member in long standing he has been a mainstay on the team on-and-off for years and under various different identities (Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, and Yellowjacket). After being court-martialed in Avengers #213 (for prolonging a battle that was under control and striking his then-wife) he retired from costumed heroics in issue #230 after being framed for a crime by his old foe Egghead.
Tigra’s career with the Avengers has not been quite as long. Tigra had a short stint on the team from Avengers #211 to 216. She quit because she felt that she couldn’t compare next to more senior members as well as feeling out of her depth against the types of threats they face. Despite this, she was convinced to join the new west coast roster in West Coast Avengers #1.
Hank’s creation of Ultron was documented in Avengers #56. For years, the robot has tried to kill Hank and his friends in the Avengers. Mention is made of his recent attempt to do so, alongside the Grim Reaper, in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #1-2 and Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #1-2.
Before becoming Wonder Man, Simon Williams was involved in an embezzlement scandal in Avengers #9. Following his death (issue #9) and resurrection (issue #151), Simon never really paid for his crimes. As explained in Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #2, for years Simon let everyone believe his criminal brother — Eric Williams, aka the Grim Reaper — take the blame until he couldn’t handle the guilt anymore.
Mention is made how the Thing got his powers from cosmic rays. See Fantastic Four #1.
Topical References
In Bonita’s origin story, she stops a bunch of crooks from robbing a 7-11 convenience store. This should be considered topical as 7-11 is a real world business.
In this story, Wonder Man makes an appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. This should be considered a topical reference as this talk show ended its run in 1992 and Carson’s subsequent death in 2005.
TV’s in this story are being depicted as CRT televisions. This is topical as this is an obsolete technology.
